Int. No. 1661-A
By Council Members Espinal, Torres, Greenfield, Salamanca, Grodenchik, Richards, Reynoso, Maisel, Gentile, Cornegy, Menchaca, Cumbo, Deutsch, Treyger, Johnson, Williams, Garodnick, Levin, Levine, Chin, Vacca, Lander, Eugene, Koslowitz, Cohen, Constantinides, Cabrera, Rose and Kallos (by request of the Brooklyn Borough President)
A Local Law in relation to requiring the department of city planning, department of small business services, and the department of parks and recreation to develop urban agriculture website
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Urban agriculture website. An urban agriculture website shall be developed on nyc.gov or any successor website maintained by or on behalf of the city of New York and shall include such information as is set forth in subdivisions a and b of this section. a. Commercial urban agriculture uses. The department of city planning and the department of small business services, in cooperation with other relevant agencies and stakeholders, including but not limited to food policy educators and representatives from urban farming businesses, shall prepare content for such urban agriculture website. Such content shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(i) zoning regulations for agricultural uses, including but not limited to, farms, greenhouses, nurseries and truck gardens;
(ii) assistance available from the department of city planning in obtaining information about specific properties;
(iii) a link to ZoLa (Zoning and Land Use Application) or its successor resource; and
(iv) other existing business resources relevant to urban agricultural businesses available from city agencies.
b. Community urban agriculture uses. The department of parks and recreation, in cooperation with other relevant agencies and stakeholders as needed, including but not limited to, food policy educators and representatives from community gardens, shall prepare content for such urban agriculture website. Such content shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(i) a list of existing urban agricultural spaces, and those city-owned spaces, which are available and potentially suitable for community urban agricultural use, including community gardens and urban farms. When compiling or revising such list, the department of parks and recreation shall consult with other relevant agencies, including the department of housing preservation and development and the department of citywide administrative services;
(ii) information on how such spaces can be established and supported; and
(iii) information on how produce grown on-site at community urban agriculture sites can be distributed within communities.
c. For purposes of the uses specified in subdivision a of this section, “commercial urban agriculture” shall be as determined by the department of city planning and the department of small business services. For purposes of the uses specified in subdivision b of this section, “community urban agriculture” shall be as determined by the department of parks and recreation.
d. The website specified in subdivisions a and b of this section shall be active no later than July 1, 2018. Relevant agencies responsible for the construction and maintenance of the website shall issue a review of the website’s efficacy to the city council due no later than January 1, 2019.
§2. This local law takes effect immediately.
JHC/JML
LS #7286
12/1/17 5:18 p.m.